04/30/09

Here is the first edition (of what I hope is going to be a daily “video”) of “Good Morning Tar Heels”. In this small video I am going to give some shout outs to people that have been friend to either myself or this site and then give some links to check out today. All the links will also be posted underneath the video, so that if you missed them you can still find them without rewinding. I hope you will enjoy this as much as I do making it, and if you have anything to add/comment about make sure you do so below. Any way to make this better will always be appreciated!

Links talked about in the video:

The Heels and the mock drafts: Lawson ~ Ellington ~ Hansbrough ~ Green

The Slam Dunk Central web site, and the piece about ex UNC big man Rasheed Wallace, where there seems to be a Need For Sheed

The NESW site, along with a couple of examples of the videos you can find, such as MJ’s NBA Draft or a Dream Team piece where of course Jordan is in

03/27/09

A pretty packed schedule in the National Basketball Association last night. In all there were ten games on the schedule, with five of them having a touch of carolina blue in them. As you know that can only mean one thing on this blog of mine, it’s time to do the daily post called “Heels in the Leauge” where I give you a small recap of what the ex Carolina players did as well as link to several recap sites, from main stream media (ESPN) to bloggers (Slam Dunk Central) to name a few. I am planning to get more NBA blogs to link to, but probably won’t happen until next season.

First game of the night is the one that has the Charlotte Bobcats (4th in the Southeast Division) heading to the Wachovia Center to take on the Philadelphia 76′ers (2nd in the Atlantic Division). For the `Cats it’s the combo of Raymond Felton and Sean May, but only the speedy point guard makes it on the floor in this one. The ex Heel and national champion gets 40 minutes scoring 20 points (8 for 14) while adding five assists, three steals and two rebounds. On the dark side Felton did committ five turnovers on the night. When it was all done it was Charlotte (32-40, 12-23 away) winning this game against Philadelphia (37-34, 21-15 home) by the final score being 100 to 95. With the win the Bobcats are now 1.5 games behind the eighth place Pistons.

The next game that was played last night with a touch of carolina blue is the match up between two teams that have clinched a playoff spot in the East, the Boston Celtics (1st in the Atlantic Division) and the Atlanta Hawks (2nd in the Southeast Division). For the home squad we would usually see Marvin Williams if he was not hurt, so once again he is a “DNP”, and will probably be this way all the way through the rest of the season. For the game itself, even without the use of Kevin Garnett, it was Boston (55-19, 26-13 away) winning the game at the Philips Arena, defeating Atlanta (42-31, 28-9 home) by the final tally of 99 to 93. Jeff Sack of Slam Dunk Central believes that “Big Baby grew up” in the game, and I tend to agree with Davis replacing KG and getting a double double in the game. Even with the loss the Hawks are still 3.5 games ahead of the Heat for the fourth place spot.

The third game of the night was an East versus West match up as the New Jersey Nets (3rd in the Atlantic Division) hosted the Los Angeles Lakers (1st in the Pacific Division) at the IZOD Center. For the home squad it’s Vince Carter getting 40 minutes in the game, scoring a team high 20 points (8 for 15) while adding seven rebounds and three assists. The ex Tar Heel also had two turnovers in the game. Unfortunately the rest of his squad had 20 more TO’s and you can’t do against the Lakers. That being said Los Angeles (58-14, 27-9 away) took care of business on the east coast, defeating New Jersey (30-42, 15-21 home) by eight points, 103 to 95, and claiming the top spot in the West with it. With the loss the Nets fall to the 12th place in the East, 4.5 games back of the Pistons, and probably out of contention for the post season.

The second to last game on tap with a touch of carolina blue is the match up between two teams in the playoff run in the West, with the Denver Nuggets (1st in the Southwest Division) going to the lone star state to play against the Dallas Mavericks (4th in the Northwest Division) at the American Airlines Center. As we all know Jerry Stackhouse won’t be on the court due to injury and other things, and probably the next time we do see the ex Heel it won’t be in a Mavs uniform. For the game itself it was Denver (47-26, 20-18 away) beating Dallas (43-29, 26-9 home) by the slim margin of 103 to 101. Even with the loss it seems that the Mavs will make the playoffs as they are still 3 games ahead of the Suns for the last spot in the West.

The last game is one that matches up two squads both bottom dwellers of their division and both still in the teens as far as wins go. It’s the Memphis Grizzlies (last in the Southwest Division) going on the road and taking on the Sacramento Kings (last in the Pacific Division) at the ARCO Arena. For the home squad ex national champion Rashad McCants gets just nine minutes off the bench and scores three points while doing not much else. In the end it’s Memphis (18-53, 6-29 away) winning this game, beating Sacramento (15-56, 10-25 home) by 18 points, 113 to 95. The win snaps a 20 game losing streak tells us Stephen Rhodes from Slam Dunk Central. Sacramento is nowhere to be seen when we talk about the playoff race, so I won’t even go there.

I know this has nothing to do with the “Heels in the League”, but I want to give a shout out to Carolyn over at the And One for her first (of what I believe to be many) games from the “Q” in press row! Congratulations C!

03/26/09

Tiny schedule last night for the National Basketball Association. In all three games were played, and just one of them had a team with a touch of carolina blue on it. But, here on The Fifth Corner, whether one or all, if any ex Carolina players are in action there is the post called “Heels in the League” doing a recap of the game. And as all of you know, attached to the my small recap there is a link to the ESPN article about the game as well as the one by Slam Dunk Central. Right after we check out the game in the NBA I will also see how the ex UNC players did in the NBDL last night.

In the only game of the night it’s a West versus East match up, with the Los Angeles Lakers (1st in the Pacific Division) going to the Palace of Auburn Hill to take on the Detroit Pistons (3rd in the Central Division). Still on the sideline is ex Tar Heel Rasheed Wallace due to the strained left calf, meaning that once again the big man was not able to be part of another game for his Pistons. This game was basically over in the 3rd quarter when the Lakers outscored the Pistons 31-13, and in the end Los Angeles (57-14, 26-9 away) cruised by Detroit (34-37, 18-19 home) by the final of 92 to 77. Jeff Sack tells us in his article this is the first time since Jan `02 that the Lakers take down the Pistons on their home floor, thanks in grand part to the Kobe “Black Mamba” Bryant. With the loss the Pistons are still 3 games ahead of the Bobcats for the last playoff spot in the East.

In the NBDL it’s also a slow night, with just two games, but one does showcase an ex Tar Heel, David Noel. His Reno Bighorns play host to the Iowa Energy at the Reno Events Center. For Noel, who starts at a forward slot, it’s a good night, getting a triple double with 17 points (6 for 8), 10 rebounds and 13 assists while playing almost 37 minutes. In the end Reno (20-23) beat Iowa (25-18) by the final tally of 131 to 109. I also found a power ranking for the Development League. Reno is ranked 11th as of now, whole Rio Grande (Jawad Williams) is 12th.

03/25/09

Pretty big night in the National Basketball Association, where eleven games were played, and of that six teams with a touch of carolina blue were in action. All of this means just one thing, it’s time to do my daily post called “Heels in the League”. The interesting thing about last night’s games was that of the six teams with ex UNC players on it, four went head to head. Right after checking out these four games I will be looking at the NBDL and see how the ex Tar Heels did last night. Lastly, as I began yesterday, besides the ESPN recap I will be linking to Slam Dunk Central on any posts they did regarding the games.

First game of the night was the match up between the New Jersey Nets (3rd in the Atlantic Division) going up against the Cleveland Cavaliers (1st in the Central Division) at the Quicken Loans Arena, or as Carolyn over at the And One web site calls it, the “Q”. For the Nets, who are fading fast from the playoff picture, it’s Vince Carter getting 41 minutes at the shooting guard spot. In that time frame the ex Tar Heel got a team high 20 points, but achieving it by going 7 for 21 (3 from 9 from beyond the arc) can’t have helped. Carter also had five assists, four boards, two steals and a block, while turning over the ball four times in the game. In the end, it was Cleveland (58-13, 33-1 home) winning this game by 11, defeating New Jersey (30-41, 15-21 away) by the final of 98 to 87. Matt Loede, over at Slam Dunk Central, did believe that New Jersey did put up a battle in this game. With the loss the Nets are now 11th in the East, 3.5 games back of the last opening for the playoffs with just 11 games remaining in the season.

The second game of the night with a touch of carolina blue, played at Philips Arena, was the one that had the Atlanta Hawks (2nd in the Southeast Division) hosting the San Antonio Spurs (1st in the Southwest Division) in a East versus West match up. As we all know by now the ex Heel for the Hawks, Marvin Williams, has been out with a back injury and will probably not be seen for the rest of the season. However his squad is still solidly in the playoffs, thanks in part to the ex Heel contribution, and hopefully will be able to go as deep as possible in the playoffs. As far as the game last night, it was San Antonio (47-24, 22-13 away) winning the game by 10, beating Atlanta (42-30, 28-8 home) 102 to 92. While the Hawks lost so did the team that is chasing them for the fourth spot of the playoffs, the Heat, keeping Atlanta 3.5 games ahead of Miami.

The third game of the night is one that pits division foes as well as old school UNC vs new school Carolina. The Charlotte Bobcats (4th in the Southeast Division) headed north to the Verizon Center to take on the Washington Wizards (last in the Southeast Division) for a game that meant a lot more for the `Cats than it does for the Wizs when it comes to the playoffs. For the visiting team only Raymond Felton of the new school (aka ex pupils of Roy Williams) played, getting 34 minutes in all. In that time the ex national champion got 14 points along with eight assists, five rebounds, three steals to go along with three TO’s on the night. His team mate Sean May was a “DNP – Coach’s Decision”, that makes us all wonder what is going on with the ex UNC big man and his head coach Larry Brown, another member of the Tar Heel family. On the other side of the court, the old school Heel (aka ex pupil of Dean Smith), Antawn Jamison, got 37 minutes getting a game high 27 points, as well as a team high eight rebounds, three assists, two blocks and a steal. When it was all said and done in this one it was Washington (17-56, 12-25 home) beating Charlotte (31-40, 11-23 away) by the final tally of 95 to 93. With the loss the chances of the `Cats going to the playoffs becoming smaller and smaller, now 2.5 games back of the last spot with 11 games left.

The last game of the night is another head to head game between old school and new school Carolina. It’s the Golden State Warriors (3rd in the Pacific Division) going to the lone star state to take on the Dallas Mavericks (4th in the Southwest Division) at the American Airlines Center. For the visiting Warriors you have Brandan Wright getting 19 points from off the bench, a change since the ex Heel had started the last games. The forward got eight points, three boards and a steal on the night. On the other side, for the Mavs, we know that there should have been Jerry Stackhouse on the court. But once again he does not make it to the court, sitting on the sideline with his team mates, watching the game, and hoping to be gone as soon as possible from Mark Cuban’s team. The game was a blow out, with Dallas (43-28, 26-8 home) taking this one by 22 points, crushing Golden State (25-47, 6-31 away) by the final of 128 to 106.

As far as the ex Heels in the development league not much to report as the NBDL didn’t have any games last night. However I did find an article from the World Leader in Sports about the league that talks how it is growing before everyone’s eyes.